SteelSeries To Sell Through Best Buy

Chicago — SteelSeries, a manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, announced today that Best Buy will sell three of its SKUs.

The products, which include SteelSeries’ 3H headset, World of Warcraft MMO gaming mouse and MERC Stealth keyboard, are scheduled to be available at Best Buy in March.

SteelSeries' CEO Bruce Hawver spoke with TWICE last week about the announcement as well as the company’s plans for 2009. Selling through Best Buy is part of a three-pronged plan by SteelSeries, he said.

“You’ll see us continue to focus on three areas — expand our retail distribution footprint, expand our product portfolio … and you’ll see some more activities to promote the gaming community,” Hawver said.

When asked about the company’s plans to weather the recession currently gripping much of the nation, Hawver said SteelSeries isn’t “feeling [the recession].”

“We’re one of the lucky ones,” he said. “We’re up 75 percent year over year, and we’re up over 100 percent in North America. We’ve seen great expansion in our retail distribution footprint … We are anticipating a good year. With broadband penetration expanding to most households, and the fact you have gaming as much as a social activity for the younger generation in particular, I think people are spending more time [gaming].”